Greenley Grell's Art Portfolio

Greenley Grell “Izzy's Holiday Break”

8x10,  Acrylic Painting , 2025

My painting is of my dog Izzy. It is a painting of her laying in her bed the day we were putting up our Christmas tree, last year. I got the idea by having to pick a painting of an animal which I then looked for pictures of my dog, Izzy because I knew that's what I wanted to paint for my animal. Not much of it evolved. I just painted what I saw on my reference photo.

I made this painting by starting on the background. I painted a solid tanish brown for my background. I then used tracing paper and a reference photo to get the outline and little details onto my canvas. After I was done with the sketch, I started painting. The first thing I did was the face of my dog, and then I did the rest of my dog. I tried to get the colors I saw and then tried to blend them where I thought they belonged. After that I started with the dog bed, which I painted a grayish white, then I used a paint marker to get all of the little details and add those white lines to the dog bed. After that I started in the background with the brick, cabinets, and fireplace. I did use black paint markers to draw the little details on the white cuboard. Something in the background that might be confusing is the green thing in the background that looks similar to grass. This is the garland that we put on the fireplace; it just hasn’t been put up yet. I did the garland by adding colors such as white, black, and a ton of greens. I then added little lines simular to grass. The carpet was the hardest part. I used a mix between paint and paint markers. I just painted it a bluish gray and then added highlights and shading to the carpet. 

For this painting a really tried to get it as realistic as I could to my reference photo. This artwork resembles happiness to me, because putting my tree up is my favorite time of the year, while I also love my dog so this picture just makes me happy. When someone looks at my painting I want them to feel happy. 

The most difficult thing for my artwork is probably the face. There were a lot of little details, highlights, and shading that made it really hard to paint. The eyes played a big role in this challenge. I overcame this challenge by asking for advice and help from Miss. Garity. She helped me get a start on the eyes, and gave me suggestions that really helped improve the features of my dog. If I started over I would change the legs. It’s front legs just look really skinny and 2D. I tried really hard to add detail but I would say this was the biggest thing I would change if I restarted my artwork. 

The style of the artwork is realistic. I would say this is unique to me because it is of my dog, so you will never find a painting like this. I love how it turned out. I really think it turned out great, I feel like it is realistic to my reference photo. And I just love my dog so I think that makes me enjoy this painting more.